Quentin And Caddy example essay topic

The Sound and the Fury Title: The title of this novel is The Sound and the Fury. This title is derived from one of Shakespeare's most intriguing plays, Macbeth. Within Macbeth, Shakespeare describes life as "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury". And if life is "a tale told by an idiot", there is justification as to of why Faulkner begins the book through the eyes of Benjy, a thirty-three year old retard. Author: The author of The Sound and the Fury is William Faulkner. He grew up in Oxford, Mississippi.

After dropping out of high school, Faulkner pursued his studies at the University of Mississippi. And he was a member of England's Royal Navy in World War I. Attempting to leave his mark in history as a great author, Faulkner created a host of characters comprised of the faults of human nature in the South. And Faulkner is characterized by the range of his technique and tone along with the themes concerning the South. Faulkner bought a pre-Civil War mansion called "Rowan oak" in Oxford, Mississippi which would be his home until the very day he dies. Major Characters: The first section of the book is seen through the eyes of Benjy, the retarded son of the aristocratic Compson family. In Benjy's section, Benjy has no concept of time and portrays everything in the present, and in this case, April Seventh, 1928.

The events that take place on this day are insignificant. However, these events bring about memories which are highly significant. Benjy doesn't understand any abstract concepts such as integrity and time. Instead he just absorbs memories from what he sees and what he hears. He does, however, have the ability to sense any bad occurrences that are out of place.

One example of this can be seen when Caddy loses her virginity. Benjy is able to sense this and moans continuously. Caddy is Benjy's only source of affection and is entirely dependent on her. The next major character found in the book is Quentin. The second section of the book is seen through the eyes of Quentin many years before. Quentin is the oldest of the Compson children, and has romantic ideals about virginity.

He is obsessed with his sister, Caddy, and is upset with her for wanting to marry a man named Dalton Ames. And he only becomes more upset when his father pays no negative regard toward Caddy's promiscuity or about honor within a family. This eventually leads him to commit suicide. He is the only character in the novel who is obsessed with honor and sexuality.

And when he can't find any love from his mother, he turns to Caddy. Quentin does not want to forget how he handled Caddy's promiscuity because he believes that if he were to forget the entire experience would be meaningless although he is haunted by it. And in the end, Quentin commits suicide by drowning himself in the river. The next major character of this novel is Jason Compson. And the third section of the book is seen through his eyes and revolves around him. From this section, the reader learns that Jason is a selfish, demented, and emotionless bachelor who would never give in to the idea of marriage.

Jason is selfish in that he believes that he is always right and that the world should work the way that fits him best. He is demented in that he enjoys quarreling with people. One good example of this is when he arrives to work late in hopes that he will have the chance to argue with his boss. And he is emotionless in that he doesn't feel for anyone and doesn't believe in love. The next major character found in the book is Dilsey. And although the last section is from the author's point of view, it revolves around Dilsey, the cook for the Compson family.

She treats Benjy like a normal person and assumes that his needs are the same as the rest of the family. She is in sharp contrast with Jason in that she is loving and does not hold grudges. And when someone makes a mistake she believes in helping the person instead of becoming upset. And she is a symbol of salvation and faith.

Mr. Compson may only appear a few times in the book but his presence is felt throughout it. This is especially true in Quentin's section. Mr. Compson does not care about Caddy's promiscuity because it does not come to him as a surprise. This gives the reader evidence that Mr. Compson sees women as inferior. He completely disregards honor which upsets Quentin. Mr. Compson only believes in pretending to be a gentlemen and that humans can only pretend and that there is no good or perfect human.

Mr. Compson eventually dies of alcoholism. Another important character found in the book is Caddy. From Benjy's memories, the reader's earliest view of Caddy would be daring and mischievous. And this is because Caddy climbed a tree to see what was going on in the house at the time of her grandmother's funeral. Caddy is also the only character in the novel who Benjy shows affection towards.

And as a result of this Caddy allows Benjy to depend on her. And Benjy has a deep love for Caddy, who to him was more like a mother figure. And she is the only one who can quiet Benjy. Caddy is a very controversial character within the book. She admits that she does not love the men that she has sex with. This was just a way for her to assert her independence from the aristocratic assumption which is not understood by her brother, Quentin, or her father.

She does, however, enjoy sex. This can be seen in the quote "when they touched me, I died". She is willing to commit any violation, even incest, in order to break free from the assumed aristocratic order. Minor Characters: 1.

Luster - The grandson of Dilsey and caretaker of Benjy although he is half of Benjy's age. 2. T.P. - He is one of Dilsey's sons who quarrels with Quentin at the time of Caddy's wedding. 3. Verse - One of Dilsey's sons who served as the caretaker of Benjy during his childhood. 4. Mrs. Caroline Compson - The self-pitying mother of the Compson children who is preoccupied with her own personal affairs. 5.

Maury - Benjy's uncle who lives off of his sister's money on the Compson estate. He is having an affair with a neighbor named Mrs. Patterson. 6. Dalton Ames - A boy from Jefferson who is probably the father of Caddy's child, Miss Quentin. 7.

Miss Quentin - Caddy's illegitimate daughter. She is raised by the Compson family after her mother's divorce. Much like her mother, she is also promiscuit. And she is also seeking independence from the aristocratic world. 8. Dad muddy - The Compson children's grandmother whose funeral takes place in 1898.9.

Charlie - Caddy's earliest boyfriend according to Benjy who finds them on the swing. 10. Deacon - A black person who receives Quentin's suicide letters. 11. Shreve - Quentin's room ate at Harvard who is also left letters from the upset Quentin. 12.

Mrs. Patterson - The woman that Uncle Maury is having an affair with. 13. Mr. Patterson - Mrs. Patterson's husbands who finds out about the affair and assaults Uncle Maury. 14. Lorraine - Jason's mistress in Memphis. 15.

Job - Jason's co-worker at Earl's store. 16. Earl - Jason's employer. 17. Front - The daughter of Dilsey and Luster's mother. 18.

Ro skus - Dilsey's husband who dies of rheumatism. 19. Reverend Shegog - A diligent black man who delivers a powerful sermon on Easter Sunday in Jefferson. Setting: Each sections of the book take place at different times. Thre e of the sections (April 7th 1928, April 6th 1928, April 8th 1928) take place on the Easter weekend. And Quentin's section (June 2nd 1910) takes place many years before.

The order of the book is quite different from other novels. It starts with Benjy's section on April 7th, 1928. Then it switches to eighteen years ago in Massachusetts. Then it continues back to the Easter weekend on April 6th then to April 8th in 1928. Most of the novel takes place in Jefferson, Mississippi. However, Quentin's section takes place at Harvard University in Massachusetts.

These areas do not really have any symbolic meaning in the book. Many events take place in Jefferson. But more importantly, most of the memories seemed to be derived from Jefferson. Quentin also has many memories from Massachusetts. Ethical Problems Explored in the Book: One major ethical problem explored in the book is incest. Quentin commits to sexual intercourse with his sister.

He does this primarily to feel that he has protected his sister's virginity. But he also does this to rid of the secret shame that he had about his own virginity; Quentin was embarrassed to still be a virgin. Incest is considered to be very derogatory, yet Quentin and Caddy were both willing to do it. The next major ethical problem explored in the book is suicide. There are many factors leading to Quentin's suicide. The two major factors leading to Quentin's suicide are his father's disregard for southern aristocratic honor and the incest he commits which he wishes not to forget.

Suicide has always been a major issue. And in this novel, the fact that Quentin commits suicide shows that he is weak. The next major ethical problem explored in the book is Mr. Compson's complete disregard for Southern aristocratic honor. The father didn't even pretend to have any family honor for his son. This shows arrogance. The father should have upheld his family's honor.

However, the rest of the family did not up hold this honor. Plot: 1. Exposition - The exposition of this book is in the first section, Benjy's section, April 7th 1928.2. Rising Action - There are many different rising actions within this novel. The first rising action would be the scene when Caddy climbed up a tree next to the house to see what was going on inside. The next rising action would be Quentin's suicide or Mr. Compson's death.

3. Climax - The climax of the story would be when Miss Quentin marries the man with the red tie and when she steals Jason's money. 4. Falling action - The falling action of the story would be when Dilsey takes Benjy to the Easter Sunday service. 5. Catastrophe - The catastrophe of the story would be when Benjy can't control his moans when returning from the Easter service because of his memories.

Major Symbols and Allusions: - Symbols -1. Water - In the novel, water symbolizes purity. This is especially true for Caddy. 2. Quentin's watch - Quentin breaks the hands off of his watch so that he would not forget what he did to Caddy. By breaking the hands off his watch he feels that time can be stopped.

He would like to stop time because his father told him that time heals all wounds, and he doesn't want to forget his wound. He wants to carry the shame because he feels that it is his responsibility. - Allusions - A number of allusions are made to the bible, especially in Reverend Shegog's sermon on Easter Sunday. 1.

"Blood of de Lamb" - This is an allusion that Reverend Shegog constantly makes during his sermon. It is an allusion to Revelation 7.14. 2. "My sister Death" - Faulkner uses this allusion from when Saint Francis of Assisi was upon his death bed.

Style: Faulkner is characterized by a unique range of tone and technique. Faulkner wrote this book in the Stream of Consciousness style. This is when someone writes their thoughts through a character without any regard for logical narrative sequence. It also reflects the psychology of the character being created. The book is written from separate points-of-view. The first three sections of the book are first person omniscient, and the last section is from the author's point of view.

Faulkner's diction is pretty simple, and so is his syntax. And so, Faulkner has a very unique style. Major Themes: The major theme of the novel, The Sound and the Fury deals with the corruption of traditional Southern aristocratic order concerning attributes. There was an assumption about southern families. They were supposed to be hospitable and have high moral strength. Also, women were supposed to be pure and nurturing.

And this was not entirely held up by the Compson Family. Mr. Compson didn't care about family honor or about what his family did. And he was also an alcoholic. And Caddy is not pure and nurturing, instead she is cunning and rebellious. Benjy seems to be the only character who doesn't commit any real sins.

And because the Compson household seems without morals, it seems to run without love. Another theme found in the book is independence. This can be seen in Caddy's promiscuity. The only reason that she was having sex was because she wanted to be independent from the traditional south. She was willing to commit any violation to assert her independence, even incest. She was even asserting her independence when she was a child and she allowed for her dress to become dirty.

Quotes Explained: The first important quote of the book is "Caddy smells like trees". This is how Benjy describes his sister, Caddy. He says this because his first memories of her concern a time when Caddy climbed up a tree to see what was going on in the house. This affectionate scent does not, however, stay upon Caddy through Benjy's mind.

The scent fades away when Caddy loses her virginity. The next important quote found in the book is "If I'd just had a mother so I could say Mother Mother". This quote appears a number of times in Quentin's section. It is a reflection of how little love his mother gave him.

His mother was self-absorbed and only showed affection towards Jason. And because of this Quentin became more and more attached to Caddy, his sister. The next major quote of the book is "Whoever God is, He would not permit that. I'm a lady. You might not believe that from my offspring, but I am". These are the words of Mrs. Compson from the final chapter when she learns that Miss Quentin has run away.

She assumes that no harm would come come to her as she is aristocratic and has special with God. This quote also gives evidence that she knows that her children do not consider her to be a real mother. The next important quote found in the book is "I seed de beginning, en now I sees de end in". Dilsey says these words in the last section of the novel when she learns that Miss Quentin has run away. This shows that she has insight on the children's lives and shows that Faulkner purposely put her in to signal to the reader that the book will soon end. Relevance of the Work to the Present Time: This work has a lot of relevance today; for one thing, assumptions concerning attributes for individual classes are still made.

A good example of this is the assumption that the rich people in big cities are supposed to know how to play an instrument and are to be found enjoying themselves in museums. There are many assumptions that are still made today that are entirely stereotypical.